Description

Childhood obesity is a serious health problem that involves having an excess of body fat early in life. The extra weight that often start children on the path to other health conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure. Childhood obesity can also lead to low self-esteem and depression.

The symptoms of obesity in childhood are not simple or simply on the basis of how the children are. And that several factors may play a role in the cause of this condition. Some of the factors that may be within the capacity of the family for the change, such as eating and physical activity habits. Many other risk factors cannot be changed, for example those related to genes and hormones.

You can help to control or prevent obesity in children by having all your family regularly eat balanced meals and snacks. It also helps for the entire family to lead an active life. Steps like these help protect the health of your child, now and in the future.

Symptoms

The symptoms of obesity in children are not clear. Not all children carrying extra pounds are overweight. Some children have larger than average body frames. And it is typical that the children have different amounts of body fat at different stages of development. So you can not know if the weight is a concern that is based on how the look of his son.

A measure called the body mass index (BMI) helps the professionals of the health check for the status of overweight and obesity status. A child's BMI is based on the child's weight and height in comparison with those of other children of the same age and sex using growth charts. Talk with your child's health care professional about how your child's BMI is adapted to other tracks of the health of the children. For example, the patterns of growth, eating and activity habits, stress, sleep, and family history also plays a key role in health. Other tests can also help your child to your health professional to find out whether your child's weight could pose health risks.

When to see a doctor

If you are concerned that your child is putting on too much weight, talk with your child's health care professional. Get a health check immediately if your child has any of the following symptoms:

  • Headaches that will not go away for a long time.
  • The high blood pressure.
  • Excessive thirst and frequent urination.
  • The breathing starts and stops many times during sleep.
  • Poor growth in comparison with other children of the same age and sex.

Causes

Childhood obesity is a complex disorder. Several factors may play a role in the cause of the same. These include:

  • Genetic and hormonal factors.
  • The access to food.
  • Stress.
  • The dream.
  • Social and economic factors.
  • Eating and physical activity habits.

Risk factors

Many risk factors that cause obesity in childhood are more likely. Some factors that might be within the skill of her family to change include the following:

  • Feeding habits. Frequently eating foods that have large amounts of sugar, saturated fats and sodium can cause your baby to gain weight. These include fast foods, bakery products and vending machine snacks. Sweets and desserts can also cause weight gain. So can sugary drinks, including soft drinks, fruit juices, and sports drinks. These types of foods and beverages are found everywhere, and are designed to appeal to the taste buds. It is okay to enjoy delights such as these from time to time. Try to eat or drink slowly and with care, paying attention to each bite or sip. And be sure to look at the serving sizes listed on the labels. Try not to have more of those amounts in a single session.
  • There is not enough movement. Children who do not get enough daily movement are more likely to gain weight. Therefore, encourage your child or teen to get at least 60 minutes of physical activity a day. Too much time spent being inactive also plays a role in weight gain. Examples of being inactive include sitting down to watch TV, play video games, or the use of a lot of social media. TELEVISION and online programs may also feature advertisements of junk food, or in the ads. If your child is 2 years of age or more, try to limit the leisure, the time display is not used for homework, to not more than two hours a day. If your child is less than 2, do not let your child have some screen time.
  • Mental health factors. Personal stress and family stress can raise a child's risk of obesity. Ongoing stress can cause the body to produce large amounts of hormones such as cortisol. The high levels of these hormones can cause feelings of hunger increases. They can also trigger cravings for foods that have large amounts of fat and added sugar. If you think your child has too much stress, talk with your child's health care professional. You may be referred to a counselor or other mental health professional that can test your child and provide treatment if necessary.
  • Certain medications. Some prescription drugs can increase the risk of obesity. They include prednisone, lithium, amitriptyline, paroxetine (Paxil), gabapentin (Neurontin, Gralise, Horizant), propranolol (Inderal LA, Hemangeol), quetiapine (Seroquel), carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Tegretol, others), medroxyprogesterone (Depo-Provera), olanzapine (Zyprexa) and risperidone (Risperdal). Your child's health care professional can review the medicines your child takes. If a medication could be causing the weight gain, the healthcare provider may change the dose or change the medication.

Some other factors that contribute to obesity in childhood may be outside the ability of parents to control. These include the following:

  • Family factors. If the child comes from a family of people who tend to gain weight easily, your child may be more prone to weight gain.
  • Genes and hormones. Sometimes, the changes in certain genes may play a role in childhood obesity. So can the conditions related to hormones, and many other processes that occur within the body.
  • Social and economic factors. In some communities have limited resources and limited access to supermarkets. As a result, its main access to food may be the convenience of food that does not spoil quickly. These include frozen meals, crackers, and cookies. Access to fresh produce, meats and other proteins, whole grains, and may be limited. And access to safe places for movement activities and outdoor hobbies can also be limited.

Complications

Obesity in childhood often causes health problems and conditions known as complications. These can affect a child's physical, social and mental.

Physical complications

Physical complications of obesity in children may include:

  • Type 2 diabetes. This long-term condition that affects the way the body uses sugar, also called glucose. Obesity and a sedentary lifestyle increases the risk of type 2 diabetes.
  • High cholesterol and high blood pressure. A poor diet can cause one or both of these conditions. High cholesterol and high blood pressure may play a role in the accumulation of plaques in the arteries. The accumulation can cause the arteries to narrow and harden. And that can lead to a heart attack or stroke later in life.
  • Pain in the joints. The Extra weight causes more tension in the hips and knees. Obesity in childhood can cause pain and, sometimes, the injuries in the hips, knees and back.
  • Respiratory conditions. Asthma is more common in children who are overweight. These children are also more likely to develop obstructive sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea can be a serious condition in which breathing stops and starts many times during sleep.
  • The metabolic dysfunction associated with the steatotic liver disease. This condition causes fat deposits to build up in the liver. Usually does not cause symptoms. But it can lead to scarring of the liver and damage. The condition is known as non-alcoholic fatty liver.

Mental health and social complications

Children who have obesity may get teased or bullied by their peers. As a result, they may lose self-esteem. They may also have an increased risk of depression, anxiety and eating disorders.

Prevention

To help prevent childhood obesity, take the following steps:

  • A good example. Make healthy eating and regular physical activity a family affair. That way, everyone benefits and no one feels singled out. It is ideal for your child to get an hour of physical activity a day, at least five days a week.
  • Offer well-balanced meals and snacks each day. To serve a balanced meal, think about the space for the food on a plate. Fruits and vegetables should take up half of the plate. Grains such as whole wheat, brown rice, and whole-wheat pasta should take a quarter of the plate. Proteins such as lean meat, poultry, seafood, and lentils should take the other quarter of the plate. Between meals, offer snacks that have a lot of nutrients and little added sugar, saturated fat, and sodium. Examples of balanced snacks include yogurt with berries, an apple with peanut butter and whole-grain crackers with turkey and avocado. Feel free to be creative when you combine the different food.
  • Keep offering new foods. Your child may not like a new food right away. But if you offer it again, your child can learn to enjoy it over time.
  • Support a healthy relationship with junk food. Some foods, such as fast-food, cookies and chips are tasty, but don't have a lot of nutrition. Many of the junk foods also have high levels of saturated fat, sodium, or added sugar. Sweet drinks and fruit juices also tend to have a lot of sugar, with little or no nutrition. Explain to your children that they can enjoy these tasty food on occasions, such as ice cream during a family day. But it helps them understand that junk foods do not give you all day energy that the nutritious food they provide. Thinking of how to keep junk food out of the shopping list and out of the house. If you do, you could help the family focus on nutritious foods for meals and snacks.
  • Limit screen time. Don't let your family watch TV during meals, and have family members put on the phones and tablets away. Since your child is likely that the use of screens on other occasions, thinking about setting a time limit of all in the house in the following way. Encourage children to have fun doing things that don't involve a screen.
  • Choose rewards that are not food. Try not to promise your child snacks for good behavior. Suggest a fun activity reward in its place. Examples include a game together or take a trip to the park or the zoo.
  • Make sure that your child gets enough sleep. Lack of sleep can increase the risk of obesity. The amount of sleep children need depends on the age. For example, children between 6 and 12 years of age need about 9-12 hours of sleep per day. Teens ages 13 to 18 years old need about 8 to 10 hours. Try to help your child to go to sleep and wake up at the same time each day.
  • Breastfeed your baby. Breastfeed your baby from birth until 6 months of age can reduce the risk of obesity later in life.

Make sure that your child receives a well-child checkups at least once a year. During this visit, a healthcare provider measures your child's height and weight and calculate your child's BMI . If your child's BMI rises much more than a year, your child may be at risk of becoming overweight.

Diagnosis

The diagnosis involves the steps that a healthcare provider needs to find out if your child has obesity. A health professional to calculate your child's BMI and figures where it falls in a standard growth chart.

Your child's healthcare provider use the growth chart to find out how your child's weight compares to other children of the same age and sex. This is called your child's BMI percentile. For example, a child in the 80th percentile has a BMI higher than 80% of other children of the same age and sex.

Cut-off points in these growth charts of the mean of the following:

  • Underweight: BMI percentile rank 5 or below.
  • Healthy weight — BMI between the 5th and 84th percentiles.
  • Overweight: BMI between 85 and 94 percentile.
  • Obesity — BMI 95th percentile or higher.
  • Severely obese — body mass index greater than or equal to 120% of the 95th percentile.

The BMI does not take into account factors such as muscle or have a higher-than-average body structure. What is more, the patterns of growth vary considerably among children. Thus, the health care professional also factors in the growth and development of the child to help you find out if your child's weight is a health concern.

Along with the graphics and IMC of weight on the growth charts, health professional seen in:

  • His family history of obesity and weight-related health conditions, such as diabetes.
  • Your child's eating habits. This can include what your child eats and how often and how large is the size of the portions are.
  • Your child's activity level and the amount of screen time.
  • Your child's blood pressure.
  • Other health conditions that your child may have, or medications that your child takes.
  • The Mental health history, including episodes of depression, sleep problems, and if your child feels isolated, alone or intimidated.

Blood tests

Your child's healthcare provider may also do blood tests. These may include:

  • A cholesterol test.
  • A blood sugar test.
  • One of the liver function tests.
  • Other blood tests to check for certain levels of the hormone or to look for other obesity-related conditions.

Ask your child if you need to stop eating or drinking for a certain number of hours before a blood test. This is called fasting.

Treatment

The treatment for childhood obesity is the basis of factors such as the age of the child and if the child has other health conditions. Generally, the treatment includes changes in your child's eating habits and level of physical activity. The key is to make these healthy changes in time and help his son to follow in the long term. Sometimes, the treatment also includes medication, or weight loss surgery.

The experts recommend that the treatment includes a combination of the following:

  • A professional team of guidance on nutrition and physical activity.
  • Skills for the construction of habits as a family to create a healthy lifestyle over time. These habits need to work for the family long-term.

In some areas, these treatments are offered in the form of classes that children and parents to attend together. Or the parents can go to these classes and apply what they have learned at home. When these classes are not available, the health professional may need to work with you to arrange the key parts of the treatment plan. These parts include consultations with a nutritionist, and more-the regular health care visits that are focused on supporting healthy habits and goals.

Your child's healthcare provider will likely set the healthy eating and physical activity goals for your family and your child. Any goal for the weight of the child adapts to:

  • The age of your child.
  • The severity of the obesity.
  • If your child has obesity-related health conditions.

Remember, the success of the treatment depends in part on how you are committed to helping your child to make long-term healthy changes. Understand that your child is still growing. And be aware that the health-lifestyle changes can benefit your child and family in the way that the scale may not or cannot be displayed.

Healthy eating

The parents are the ones who buy, cook, and decide where the food is eaten. Even small changes can make a big difference in the health of your child.

  • Sit down together for family meals. Make it an event — a time to share news and tell stories. Try not to eat in front of a TV, computer or video of the game screen. That can lead to eating quick and less aware of the amount you eat.
  • Serve fruits and vegetables. Encourage your child to eat at least five fruits and vegetables a day. For example, aim for two pieces of fruit and three of vegetables.
  • Cut back on convenience foods. These include cookies, crackers, soda, fast food and ready meals. Are often high in sugar, fat, sodium, and calories.
  • Limit sweetened drinks. This includes fruit juice. Sugar-sweetened beverages have little nutrition and lots of calories. You can also make your child feel too full to eat more healthy foods.
  • Serve appropriate portion sizes. Children do not need as much food as adults do. Start with a small portion of it. After your child is finished, have your child wait 10 minutes before taking another portion. Let your child eat only until you are full, even if that means leaving food on the plate. Older children and teens can eat less food at the time of use. Also, keep in mind that when you eat out, the restaurant portion sizes are often too large.
  • Keep a daily food journal. Write down what your child eats and how much. Teach your child to this journal. The diary can help your child to learn to be more conscious about food choices. You can also teach your child how to track physical activity.

Physical activity

A key part of reaching and staying at a healthy weight is the physical activity. Burns calories and strengthens bones and muscles. It also helps children to sleep well at night and stay alert during the day. Good habits during childhood helps teens maintain a healthy weight. In addition, children are more likely to become the setting of the adults.

To help your child be more active:

  • Limit TV time. Children older than 2 years of age should have no more than two hours a day of leisure and time in front of the screen. That includes sitting in front of a TELEVISION, a computer, a tablet or a smart phone for fun. Children under the age of 2 should have no screen time.
  • To promote the activity. Children should receive at least one hour of physical activity a day. The activity of your child does not have to be a structured exercise program. The goal is to get your child moving. Free-play activities such as hide and seek, tag and jump rope can be a great way to burn calories and increase fitness. So you can dance, swimming, brisk walking, or biking.
  • Find activities that your child likes. For example, if your child likes to do art, go on a walk in nature to collect leaves and stones. Your child can use to make a collage. If your child likes to climb, go to the neighborhood jungle gym or climbing wall. If your child likes to read, walk or bike to the vicinity of the library for a book.
  • Encourage more movement and less sitting. You might suggest the following ideas for your child: standing or walking in place while watching TV. Take the stairs instead of elevators. If the school is within a safe walking distance from home, on foot or by bike instead of riding the bus or car. You could also ask if your child would like a portable device that keeps track of the measures taken. The device can help your child to set fitness goals.

Drugs

Your child's healthcare provider may prescribe medication to help with weight loss if the diet and exercise alone are not sufficient. Medications that can help control obesity in childhood should be used along with a healthy diet and more movement. The type of medication might be right for your child depends on factors such as the age of your child and the cause of obesity. Drugs that can increase weight loss include:

  • Semaglutide (Wegovy).
  • Liraglutide (Saxenda).
  • Phentermine and topiramate (Qsymia).
  • Phentermine.
  • Lisdexamfetamine.

Ask about the side effects of any medication that your child's health care professional recommends.

Surgery or other procedures

Weight loss surgery may be an option for some teens with severe obesity. Your teen's health care provider may recommend surgery if changes in diet and physical activity alone does not help enough. As with any type of surgery, there are risks and possible long-term complications. Talk with your teen's healthcare provider about the pros and cons of weight loss surgery.

The health care provider may recommend surgery if your teen's weight poses a greater threat to the health of the risks of the surgery. Before the weight loss surgery, it is important to meet with a team of specialists, including:

  • Obesity-medicine expert.
  • A psychologist.
  • A registered dietitian.

The surgery may be a treatment option that will support you, but your teen must decide whether or not to her. If your child decides to get weight loss surgery, to encourage the rest of his family to support the selection.

Weight loss surgery is not a miracle cure. This is not a guarantee that a teen is going to lose the extra weight or to be able to maintain long-term. And the surgery does not replace the need for a healthy diet and regular physical activity.

Coping and support

Parents play a key role in helping children to feel loved and in control of your weight. So try to build your child's self-esteem as often as you can. Don't be afraid to touch the topic of health and fitness. Also, to be direct and open when talking with your child. Try not to judge or be critical.

You can use the following tips:

  • Stay upbeat and practical when talking about weight. Harmful comments about your own weight, someone else's weight or the weight of your child may cause harm to your child. This is true even if you mean well with their comments. Harmful speaking of weight can lead to a poor body image. In his place, his talks about healthy eating, and positive body image. Make sure that other members of the family talk with your child in an upbeat, too.
  • Tell your child not to skip meals or to follow fad diets. Instead, encourage and support healthy eating. Help your child to work until at least one hour of physical activity a day.
  • Find reasons to praise your child's efforts. Celebrate the small changes in diet and physical activity. But do not reward your child with food. Choose other ways of marking your child's success, such as going to the bowling alley or at a local park.
  • Talk about the feelings of your child. Listen to any concerns that your child shares with you about the weight or body image. Show that you love your son and that you care about the feelings of your child.
  • Help your child to focus on healthy goals. For example, when your child can bike or run more than the child to get used to. Or to say how proud I feel when your son can run the required number of laps in gym class.
  • Be patient. Realize that an intense focus on the eating habits of your child and the weight can be counter-productive. This can cause a child to overeat, even more. You can also increase the risk of an eating disorder. Well that is not always the shame, the guilt or shout out to your child about weight.
  • Put an end to the bullying. If a child bullies your child about weight, take charge of the situation as soon as possible. Talk to the other child's parents. If the bullying occurs in the school, talk with your child's teacher or the director.

Preparing for your appointment

Your child's healthcare provider will probably be the first to tell you if your child's BMI is in the obese range. If your child has complications of obesity, you may be referred to other specialists to help manage these health problems.

Here's some information to help you prepare for your appointment.

What you can do

When you make the appointment, ask if there is something that your child needs to do before their time. For example, your child might have to stop eating or drinking for a certain number of hours before a test. Before the health care check-up, make a list of:

  • Your child's symptoms, if any, and when they began.
  • Key personal information, including a medical history and family history of obesity.
  • All the medications, vitamins, or other supplements that your child takes, including doses.
  • What your child usually eat in a week, and how active your child is.
  • Questions to askyour child's health care professional. A member of the family or a friend if you can. This person can help you to remember all information that is given to you.

Questions to ask your child's healthcare provider.

A member of the family or a friend if you can. This person can help you to remember all information that is given to you.

For childhood obesity, some basic questions to ask your child's health care professional include:

  • What other health conditions could be my child develop?
  • What are the treatment options?
  • Are there medications that can help control my child's weight and other health conditions?
  • How long will treatment take?
  • What can I do to help my child lose weight?
  • Are there brochures or other printed material I can have? What sites do you recommend?

Feel free to ask questions.

What to expect from your doctor

Your child's healthcare provider is likely to ask you questions about your child's eating and activity, including:

  • What does your child eat in a typical day?
  • How much activity does your child get in a typical day?
  • What factors do you think affect your child's weight?
  • What diets or treatments, if any, have tried to help your child lose weight?
  • Are you ready to make changes in your lifestyle to help your child lose weight?
  • What could prevent your child from losing weight?
  • How often does the family eat together? Causes the child to help you prepare the food?
  • Does your child, or the family, eating while watching TV, texting or using a computer?

What you can do in the meantime

If you have days or weeks before the appointment of his son, to keep a record of what your child eats and how active your child is.

Symptoms and treatment of Childhood obesity